The Interior British Columbia Sternwheeler Sicamous

by John MacFarlane 2013

SS Sicamous

The SS Sicamous on the Beach (Photo from the MacFarlane collection.)

The SS Sicamous is a large sternwheeler built by and owned by the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) in 1914. She served in Okanagan lake service between Penticton, Kelowna and Vernon. She was most important in transporting fruit from the agricultural communities along the lake to the rail head for transportation to the world. She operated in that role until 1937. She is currently beached as part of a heritage shipyard operated by the Penticton Museum and Archives in Penticton, British Columbia where she functions as a museum, an events facility and banquet hall.

It appears that Penticton’s S.S. Sicamous Inland Marine Museum is operated by the S.S. Sicamous Restoration Society. The Museum consists of two historic steamships, the S.S. Sicamous and the S.S. Naramata. The S.S. Sicamous has been fully restored. The Museum has interpretive and informative displays and exhibits which relate the histories of the ships, as well as the relevance of marine transportation to the communities in the Okanagan Valley. The S.S. Naramata is currently under restoration.

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